00:00I come from a grandmother who didn't let us leave her house without a speech and a song.
00:08She was so good at it.
00:11So I'm just going to do this and try to follow in her footsteps right now.
00:18It happened for the first time when I was nine in Zimbabwe, where I was raised.
00:23And I'd been asked to participate in a fashion show for some Americans who had come into town.
00:30We were to wear African print and exhibit our attire at an event.
00:35My mother used some fabric that had been sitting in our house for as long as I can remember,
00:39and had it made into a dress that fit my sinewy nine-year-old frame.
00:45After a few rehearsal days amidst women and girls of many ages, the day arrived.
00:51The Americans had landed.
00:54We did our show and walked about on a stage in the middle of the Botanical Gardens in Harare.
00:59And afterwards, we lingered about, none of us sure how to interact with the Americans
01:05for whom we had just displayed our African wares.
01:08When it happened, I remember being surprised by it.
01:13I'd never thought about it.
01:15But when I did receive that compliment,
01:18a stunning brown-skinned woman took my face in her hands,
01:23her long, flowing braids castating down her back.
01:26I realized it was something I would always cherish.
01:31She looked at me, observing me with deep appreciation.
01:36I stood still, trying to behave and not embarrass my mother or my nation.
01:39She held my face, looked me deep in the eye,
01:45and she told me that I was beautiful.
01:49She said it with such feeling, it filtered straight into my soul
01:52and left an indelible imprint.
01:55This majestic woman with long, flowing braids
01:58had told me that I was beautiful.
02:00So now I had to consider the idea that it might just be true.
02:05The majestic woman was Susan L. Taylor.
02:09The longtime editor-in-chief of Essence magazine.
02:21This here glorious publication.
02:24This is where I learned it.
02:27That black girls are beautiful.
02:30Sisters are beautiful.
02:32And the most edifying source to hear that from
02:35is another sister.
02:45This publication does so much for the soul of a sister.
02:48Every month, I'm guaranteed,
02:51be it in the airport,
02:52or walking down 14th Street in Manhattan,
02:54or in a Barnes & Noble in Atlanta,
02:56I am guaranteed
02:57that one of the publications on the stand
03:00will not fail me.
03:02It will have a sister on the cover
03:04celebrating her beauty,
03:05her black girl magic,
03:07and by so doing,
03:08it will remind me that I am beautiful
03:10and designed to be loved and appreciated.
03:12Because Essence celebrates us.
03:15Sisters.
03:19And I've been unpacking that lately.
03:21I've been unpacking it.
03:23Just how powerful being a sister is.
03:25See, what it means
03:27is we've figured out the okey-doke.
03:29We've called their bluff.
03:32We've found the source of our power.
03:35The world and its various oppressions
03:36against those like us
03:38wanted to tell us
03:39that we as women,
03:40we don't do well together.
03:43That we are competitive
03:44or we have catfights
03:45and petty disagreements
03:47and can't get things done when we try.
03:50It tells us to compete.
03:52That there's never enough.
03:53That we are easily replaceable.
03:55That we must consider
03:56each other's presence a threat.
03:58But we know that not to be true.
04:01A sister.
04:02A real sister.
04:03Well, we know better.
04:05She knows that her most profound strength,
04:07her power, her magic,
04:09is often actualized, nourished,
04:10and recognized by none other
04:13than another sister.
04:14She knows she can share her darkest fears
04:24and express her deepest problems
04:26and be supported, renewed,
04:28revived by none other than a sister.
04:31She knows she can move mountains,
04:33change tides,
04:34break through ceilings
04:35when she is shoulder to shoulder
04:37with another sister.
04:39She also knows that no one,
04:42not one other human being,
04:45can check her and set her straight.
04:48Be the iron that sharpens her iron.
04:51No one does that better
04:53than another sister.
04:57Sisters.
04:59Sisters are the vibranion
05:00to the others, Wakanda.
05:02Sisters get each other through
05:10to their greatness,
05:12carry each of them on their backs,
05:14and bring each other to a place anew.
05:16I wouldn't be standing here
05:18if it weren't for my sisters.
05:21And in my culture,
05:23the deeply traditional Shawna people,
05:26there's a saying
05:27that to not thank
05:30is witchcraft.
05:32So, I have got to thank
05:36those sisters who keep me whole.
05:39And I have to thank
05:40those sisters who are in the room
05:42right now.
05:44Sonequa Martin-Green.
05:45Boy, I'm gonna cry.
05:49Edwina Finley.
05:51Susan Kelechi Watson.
05:55Catherine Kimmel.
05:58This luminous light right here
06:00is shining brighter than that one.
06:02Lupita Nyong'o.
06:10You are the women
06:11that I have been able
06:13to be vulnerable with,
06:15to seek counsel from,
06:17to break all the way down with,
06:19to pray with,
06:21to be prayed for,
06:22to share frustrations,
06:24pains, fears,
06:26joys,
06:26and praise reports.
06:29You have spoken words
06:30into my life
06:31that have transformed me,
06:33cleansed me,
06:35guided me,
06:35anointed me,
06:37reminded me of who I am,
06:39helped me edge towards my destiny.
06:42Thank you
06:42for your sister girl magic.
06:46How would I have ever known
06:54that day 31 years ago
06:56that one day I'd be honored
06:57by the very same magazine
07:00the stunning woman
07:01with long braids
07:02was in charge of?
07:03How would she?
07:07But the time she took
07:09to look a little African girl
07:12in the eye
07:12and dispel the lie
07:15and implant the truth,
07:18that time resulted in something
07:21that grew inside of me
07:23that kept me aware
07:25that no matter
07:26what the world
07:27threw at me,
07:29I was beautiful.
07:38Take that little girl's face
07:40in your hands,
07:41look her deep in the eye
07:43with appreciation
07:44and tell her
07:44that she's beautiful.
07:46Tell her of her greatness.
07:49She needs you too.
07:51Her 40-year-old self
07:52will thank you for it.
07:53As I do Essence today.
07:57Now we've heard the lies.
08:00But here's the truth.
08:01The harvest is upon us.
08:05The time is now.
08:09We lack nothing.
08:12Our success is greater
08:14than our failures.
08:16We are here
08:16and we are ready
08:18to determine
08:19our own destinies.
08:22We must reap the seeds
08:23that were planted
08:23by our foremothers.
08:25From Johannesburg
08:27to London
08:27to Oakland
08:28to Los Angeles,
08:29workers are needed
08:30to till the soil
08:31of our greatness
08:31that rests
08:32in the bosom
08:33of our youth.
08:35Gather and distribute
08:36the fruit
08:37of our legacy.
08:38The youth need
08:39to see their greatness
08:40reflected in our eyes.
08:43Go forth.
08:44Let them know
08:44we're real.
08:46Invest in them
08:46with time,
08:47with resources.
08:48And as Okoye
08:49would command
08:50her army of women
08:51as they stepped
08:52into battle
08:53to preserve
08:53the sovereignty
08:54of their people
08:55to do,
08:55so I mandate
08:56all of us
08:57to do today.
08:58Forward.
08:59Pampiri!
09:01applause
09:02applause
09:04applause
Comments